China, Japan reach consensus on East China Sea issue?

**ying** · 17 Jun 08, 11:04

China, Japan reach consensus on East China Sea issue? | News today | Radio86 - All about China

China, Japan reach consensus on East China Sea issue?
16th June 2008, 07:55 GMT

[Click for a bigger view]China and Japan have reportedly ended their long-running dispute over oil/gas fields in the East China Sea. (Image: Wikipedia)

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Japan and China have agreed to jointly develop gas fields and share profits in the disputed areas of the East China Sea, Reuters says, citing the Japanese news agency Kyodo. An official announcement of the agreement can be expected this week, AP says.

The reported agreement follows a May summit between Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao. According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, the Japanese government is currently finalizing the details of the agreement, Reuters writes.

China and Japan have been involved in a long-running dispute over the development of gas fields on maritime territory that both claim to be theirs. Japan has estimated the field to contain the equivalent of 180 million barrels in oil reserves, but both countries agree that much more gas or oil could be found.

After the May summit, China and Japan decided to put an end to the territorial feud for now and agree on joint gas field development.

According to Japanese media, an agreement was reached after Beijing agreed to allow Japan to invest in its gas exploration in return for a share of the profits, AP and Reuters write. China's Foreign Ministry has yet to comment on the reports.

Phil Deans, a professor of international affairs at Temple University in Tokyo, told Reuters that, if true, the reported deal would represent a "great leap forward."

Sino-Japanese talks hit a stalemate during Premier Junichiro Koizumi's 2001-2005 tenure, partly because of his visits to a war shrine perceived by Beijing as a symbol of Tokyo's past military aggression, Reuters says.

Since the inauguration of Yasuo Fukuda to office one year ago, the relationship has undergone vast improvement. However, the now reported agreement is unlikely to put an end to the larger dispute, because the issue of demarcation still remains, AP says, citing Kyodo.

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Since both Japanese and Chinese government do not disclose the details of this unusual agreement yet, it is not clear now whether the deal is fair for China. Almost all messages posted in Chinese boards are strongly against this deal because they suspect CCP will trade our oil and teritory only for CCP's benefit instead of China's.

What's going on between China and Japan? What made CCP agree to enter into the agreement? Is CCP planning to build alliance with Japan to encounter U.S ? What’s kind of reaction U.S may have?

**Scotsman** · 17 Jun 08, 14:02

Originally Posted by ying

Since both Japanese and Chinese government do not disclose the details of this unusual agreement yet,....

The reported agreement follows a May summit between Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao. According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, the Japanese government is currently finalizing the details of the agreement,

One assumes therefore that the Chinese are too? Once the contractual issues are agreed then either party may or may not place those details in front of the people. It seems to me that a commercial deal has been struck based on I assume a commercial contract. If a Company is formed to exploit the oil and gas then it may be that the deal will remain secret as it will not for the public domaine unless sanctioned by the Board of Directors of the Company

Originally Posted by ying

...it is not clear now whether the deal is fair for China. Almost all messages posted in Chinese boards are strongly against this deal because they suspect CCP will trade our oil and teritory only for CCP's benefit instead of China's.

Unless I'm missing something it sounds like a joint-venture exploration is underway with a commercial profit sharing contract between the two parties. I assume that this will entail the founding of a JV Company that will operate on a normal commercial footing. Nothing is mentioned about territory being ceded or gained to the contrary it states that the "feud has been set aside"!

Originally Posted by ying

...What's going on between China and Japan? What made CCP agree to enter into the agreement? Is CCP planning to build alliance with Japan to encounter U.S ? What’s kind of reaction U.S may have?

) don't get hysterical I'm sure its all above board and will benefit both your countries! Indeed this may well place a different spin to the on-going negotiations regarding the sovereignty issues over the territory in question. If the collaboration is successful then this may ease the path to an amicable compromise that both nations can look upon as equitable.

....at least that's my take on this

)

**ying** · 18 Jun 08, 03:44

China said Tuesday its stance on the East China Sea issue remained unchanged.

"On the demarcation of the East China Sea, China's stance of not recognizing the so-called 'median line' had not changed," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular press conference.

She stressed the Chunxiao gas field was within China's sovereign sphere and had nothing to do with common exploration.

China and Japan have held several rounds of talks on the East China Sea issue since 2004. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Monday the consultation had "made important progress."

Jiang said China and Japan would announce the relevant agreement at an appropriate time once consensus was reached.

She stressed the two sides would, in accordance with the consensus of the leaders of the two countries on making the East China Sea a sea of peace, cooperation and friendliness, properly handle the relevant issues. The result would be mutually beneficial and a win-win deal.

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I guess the above statement of CCP is kind of action to calm down the domestic noise on the deal with Japan.
Chinese and Japanese has been shouting at each other for many years and the extreme nationalism are very strong in these two countries. Can you imagine that Israel and Palestine may suddenly enter into a peace treaty without any big reasons? I have to wonder what made China and Japan change their previous strong stance on East China Sea dispute.

The attached is the disputed sea territory. The red line is the border claimed by China and yellow line is claimed by Japan. The area with grid stands for the oil field to be jointly developed by China and Japan.

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